Professor Anton Krige

Anton was key in creating the infrastructure for ELHT and UCLan to work towards meeting the challenging joint research criteria for ELHT to become recognised as a University Teaching Hospital alongside UCLan Medical School during his tenure as ELHT Director of R&D. Anton has collaborated with UCLan staff for his clinical research resulting in a recent notable publication on Augmented Renal Clearance in critically ill patients. An exciting current collaboration with UCLan involves the study of the impact of exogenous ketone esters in the management of status epilepticus.

Anton contributes to local UCLan medical student teaching on their intensive care unit rotations.

Anton attended the University of Stellenbosch Medical School in South Africa, graduating in 1994, followed by specialist training in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine in the UK attaining a Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists in 2001 followed by a fellowship from the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine in 2011. He was accredited as a specialist in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine and was appointed as a Consultant at ELHT in 2005.
Anton has been an active educator throughout his career serving as an instructor Trauma and Paediatric Advanced Life Support Courses. He created and delivered local courses in Surviving Sepsis to multidisciplinary staff locally and Enhanced Recovery after Surgery for anaesthetists regionally. Anton is recognised as an expert in enhanced recovery after surgery, analgesia and advanced haemodynamic monitoring delivering regular national and regional lectures on these topics. Anton delivers bedside teaching to multidisciplinary staff including medical students and junior doctors in the operating theatre, ICU and one to one in the Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Clinic during all of his clinical sessions.

Anton further contributes to formal teaching via delivering ICU regional tutorial topics. The role of academic research supervisor for the ELHT Academic Foundation Year doctors and the Clinical Research Fellow for Anaesthesia and Critical Care includes educating them on research and quality improvement methodology and the delivery of projects.
Anton is well known for introducing many large scale pivotal innovations across the organisation with the largest ongoing project being Enhanced Recovery after Surgery Programs started in 2008. This has grown from strength to strength leading to significant improvements in patient outcomes and a strong national reputation. He still provides clinical leadership.

Anton has both a managerial and leadership role in research as well as delivering his own clinical research.

Research leadership includes an 8-year tenure as R&D Director for ELHT ending in 2020, an NIHR CRN Speciality Lead since 2009 and the academic supervisor for Academic Foundation year doctors at ELHT as well as a clinical research fellow. As president of the North West Anaesthesia Trainee Research Network, he is mentoring the next generation of clinical researchers.

Highlights of Anton's own research include delivery of complex intervention RCT funded by a NIHR RfPB grant and being co-applicant on a successful large HTA grant application in 2021 to deliver the same complex intervention as a large multi-centre RCT.